https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/supporting-our-fastest-growing-communities
The package announced today 24th April 2024, includes $61 million dollars for a new bus route between Wyndham Vale station and the Harpley and Cornerstone estates, as well as a new fixed route bus route for Tarneit and Laverton North, in place of the current flexiride service.
These services will be life changing for many residents of the culturally-diverse City of Wyndham, living in public transport deserts and for workers in the Laverton North employment precinct who have had to rely on expensive and polluting cars for all of their travel.
However, more communication and clarification around service levels and route alignments is needed to give residents and homebuyers clarity about these routes. Ideally, the services should be similar or better than the new 475 route in the Sunbury area, which runs 20 minutes every weekday.
“While this is good news for communities in those areas, It is vital that the government doesn't lose focus from delivering the bus plan, announced almost 3 years ago.” said Sustainable Cities spokesperson, Adam Bain, “Established residential areas are not eligible for GAIC funding, yet still require service and route upgrades after decades of underfunding and inaction. We cannot let the west fall behind.”
“Unfortunately, this round of GAIC funding resulted in no new bus services to the City of Melton communities such as Deanside, Mt Atkinson and Thornhill Park which lack meaningful public transport.” said Bain, “These communities will wait with bated breath for much needed services in the next round of GAIC funding, or sooner if the government recognises the needs of the community in the upcoming state budget.”
The newly funded government school in Wollahra will be located 1km away from the nearest bus stop, in a public transport blackspot. Delivery of a bus service must come soon, or vulnerable families won’t be able to send their children to this school safely without costing the parents valuable time driving to the school, causing local traffic.
It is also important that the government begins planning to properly use the newly announced $60 million Ison Road overpass for bus services, connecting Harpley and surrounding estates to Werribee, a critical activity centre for employment and business in the west.
The fast-growing community in the west welcomes these long awaited new routes, but more still needs to be done.
There is many more opportunities for the Victorian Government to continue improving the bus network to serve everyone's needs and access. Sustainable Cities and the community in the west look forward to seeing this improvement accelerate, and call for the government to commit to a fast, frequent, connected bus reform across all of the west.
For more comment, contact:
Adam Bain - Sustainable Cities Spokesperson
Ph: 0450 475 954 E: [email protected]
Elyse Cunningham - Sustainable Cities Coordinator, Friends of the Earth Melbourne
Ph: 0421 559 343 E: [email protected]